Today, the problem of identifying the condition of the permanent cathodes as a result of its operation, useful life and its time in the electro-winning process, remains unresolved. Typically, the maintenance, control and replacement of cathodes are technically carried out on a visual basis, which makes it difficult to exercise any preventive control action before a cathode fails due to extreme physical degradation.
Methods currently used to identify cathodes are associated with serial number engraving into the copper bar supporting the steel cathode. Special self-adhesive labels have also been used as well as bar codes in self-adhesive labels.
Although the use of bar codes in labels for steel cathodes has provided a good solution for this application in the past, the durability of the adhesive material and of the printing on the label presents problems due to the potential mechanical mistreatment, and specifically, the aggressiveness of the acid environment present in the electro-winning process. There is a need for an automatic identification system to be used in this process.
The engraving of a serial number in the hanger bar is the method most extensively used today for the identification of individual cathode plates. Although more resistant in the electro-winning environment, this method is not appropriate for the automatic identification of the cathode, and its durability is normally lower than the useful life of the plate itself, so it does not meet the need for identification of steel cathodes.
Different control systems have been tested for cathode operations, but none of them provides an effective solution to the identification problem. Consequently, there is the need to incorporate a device to carry or support an identification device that, linked to an ad-hoc system, provides the capability to remotely and readily control each cathode in an electro-winning operation. Thus, it is possible to guarantee the functionality of an electronic device that can be incorporated to the requested device and which useful life is longer than the useful life of the cathode.